One person’s travel is another person’s back yard, so I prefer to think of travel photography in terms of the type of photograph—street photography, cityscape, landscape etc. I sometimes treat my local areas as if I were foreign to it so as to see it differently.

Visiting any location other than one’s home area is, from my perspective, travel photography.

What do you look for when photographing a city? What attracts you as an artist?

I try to capture the city’s personality by looking not only at its landmarks but also at the details that stand out. I focus my activity by looking for themes such as the courthouses and public buildings, night shots, bridges, and so forth. I look for the patterns of city life that are found universally, but also the distinctive features. Of course, I am open to the spontaneous image that presents itself.

On occasion, I might wait for light to be a certain way, try to capture a city against sunset. I don’t want a documentary picture; I want to do it a little bit differently.

What is your first photography memory? How old were you?

I remember the Polaroid Swinger when I was in high school. It wasn’t my first camera but have fond memories of the jingle—"Meet the Swinger, the Polaroid Swinger. It's more than a camera, it's almost alive, it's only 19 dollars and 95."

In 1976, I spent a semester in London and I was in Piccadilly Circus with a point and shoot camera—a Kodak Instamatic, if I remember correctly. I took a picture of an old woman talking to a bobby, and I think that’s always been one of my favorite photos early on because it captured the moment and this interchange in two people’s lives where they would probably never meet again so well. It was among my first efforts at making a serious image. The woman could have been an extra on a 1970s British sitcom, and the bobby was out of central casting, so it seemed to be a quintessential picture.

When did you decide to become a serious photographer?

I was always interested in astronomy. Around 1998 I took an Olympus OM 1-N camera and followed instructions in my astronomy magazine for photographing the Hale Bopp comet. When it worked, I kept experimenting with night photography, which led of course to day photography. I decided that if I was going to do this, I would do it seriously.

You’ve traveled to many parts of the world and photographed lots of people, places, and things. What are some of your favorite photographic memories?

My favorite moment was in St. Andrews, Scotland. I saw this older woman walking up a colorful street with old rowhouse buildings. There was texture and character to the woman, and I visualized the image of her in front of those buildings. I stood on my side of the street, watching through the lens for her to pass in front of the building since she was on the other side of the street. After several seconds, I looked around and saw that she was standing next to me. She said, “I was waiting for you to take the picture so I didn’t get in the way.”

Some of my favorite photos are these:

Woman in Brussels—This remains one of my favorite images as part of my fascination with street photography and urban settings. It is on a street just off the Grand Place in Brussels. There was a light rain, and I saw this woman walking along under her umbrella, and then she stopped to look in the window of this jewelry store. I never saw her face; her head was silhouetted against the umbrella. Something had caught her eye. I felt as if I were sharing some private, secret moment; she walked on and I had been a part of this small, yet seemingly vital, experience. I also prefer the black and white one to the color image because black and white lets you focus on the subject and not be distracted by the color. In many color photographs, color becomes the subject.

Newfoundland—St. John’s in Newfoundland is a remarkable city, and if you climb Signal Hill, you get a sense you are at the end of the world. The Atlantic Ocean stretches before you. This is an image of a supply boat heading out in the fog, which has a haunting sense of timelessness. It defies categorization—minimalist, seascape, landscape, maritime—it remains evocative of the mood of that moment.

First Battle of Trenton: Hessians Firing—One can document a site, but to get a feel for the mystique and relevance of a place, you need to understand what happened there and allow the ghosts to whisper to you. Sometimes a battle reenactment—more an interpretation—allows that. The image below was taken during a reenactment of the First Battle of Trenton, where the Hessians are in the act of firing. With tight cropping and no readily discernible observers, we see only the Hessians, guns raised, with smoke, in a city street.

I prefer a place that is familiar but always challenging and changing. Obviously, a large city always has some new area to explore, and there are often seasonal events that change. But a place that captures the differences in season and light and is interesting is one to which I like to return. For example, I live near the pre-Revolutionary town of Kingston, New Jersey which is on the old King’s Highway and dates from the 17th century. It is part of that Colonial route between New York and Philadelphia. A stone arch bridge dating from the late 18th century replaced the wooden bridge that Washington’s troops took down after the Battle of Princeton. A red mill still stands and reflects in the Millstone River, with Carnegie Lake in the background. A portion of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, with a lock, runs through here. There are elements of early industrialization, history, architecture and wildlife within a finite space. It is a place that captures not just the seasons, but the nuances of each.

What is the most difficult place you’ve photographed?

As far as logistics, Beirut. At least when I was there, our movement was restricted, and I was compelled to travel with a couple of other people, who were very nervous every time I took out the camera.

What cameras have you used?

I began with a Kodak Kodex No. 1 camera, but during my teens and college used mainly a Kodak instamatic camera. After college and law school, I particularly liked an Olympus XA2 35 mm film camera.

Many years ago, I received the Olympus OM-1N as a present from my uncle who was an amateur photographer. It was my first serious camera. From there I moved into Nikon, and in particular, the Nikon F50, which performed well and gave me the flexibility to pursue serious photography. I moved from there to the Nikon F70, and then into the Digital series, the Nikon D70 and then D80. I moved from those to the Nikon D5100 and currently the D5300. I have found that many photographers put a premium on—and pay for—many features that are not really necessary. The excellence of the core of the Nikon cameras (in particular the digital), means that I’m satisfied that I get the same quality images from these cameras as opposed to other, more expensive, models that have essentially the same core features but do not add real benefit for my photographic purposes. Given the rapid advancement of technology, I prefer to focus on the lenses.

Any interesting stories?

My wife and I were at a movie one Saturday night. We had been to Barnes and Noble and I had purchased a couple of photography magazines. We were at the movie early so she was thumbing through Shutterbug and came across a photo of a red door in Copenhagen and said, “That looks like something you would shoot.” We looked again, and it was my photo. I felt it was something of a validation of my work, to be in a national photography magazine and have the image recognized.

What do you consider to be street photography?

The Museum of Modern Art in New York defines street photography on its web site glossary as “[a] type of photography that captures subjects in candid moments in public places.” That is a good working definition.

If you were judging a photo competition, what types of things would you look for in a winning entry?

I first take the image as a whole and see if there is the “wow” factor. Does it stand out? When you walk into a museum with many paintings or photographs on the wall, some will catch your eye immediately, and others will blend together. So initially, I try to view the image as a whole. Subject is always important, and a good capture can compensate (to some extent) for minor technical defects. To that point, the image should be technically competent in terms of sharpness, straightness, contrast, and so forth. If those are off, then I would look to see whether they nonetheless create an interesting effect. Most of the time, it is not deliberate, but just less than competent. In other words, the chosen effect was not the result of deliberate choice, but rather inexperience or a less developed skill. I would also look for composition, to see that what is in the image is needed. For example, I have an image made of an early-morning walker in Qingdao, China. I photographed him across six lanes of intense traffic, at a momentary gap. A photography club judge criticized it because I did not have all of the man’s right foot. A National Geographic photographer acting as a judge in a competition accepted the image for an exhibit. You cannot get hung up on an arbitrary application of rules such as “don’t cut off a body part,” when the rest of the image otherwise works. One size does not necessarily fit all, and while it helps to know the rules, sometimes it is necessary to break them.

In your work with Photoshop, Lightroom or other editing programs, do you ever find yourself over-manipulating an image?

On occasion, there is a temptation to over sharpen or over saturate, and that has to be guarded against. If not, the image loses integrity and looks artificial.People see something is off, and it distracts from the subject matter.You know enough is enough when you are satisfied from an aesthetic perspective. You do have to be self-critical and admit mistakes and start over if need be. What also makes it hard is that no two monitors necessarily show the image the same way, so what looks sharp and bright on your screen might look dark and muddy on someone else’s, and you have to watch that you do not overcompensate for fear of that.

What is the worst photographic experience you have ever had?

From time to time, people drive by and call out derogatory things. I’ve been stopped by police numerous times, including on Wards and Randalls Island in New York, taking a picture of the Hell Gate Bridge. Being put up against the car and grilled as to why I was taking pictures of bridges was a new experience for me. Since then, I’ve developed strategies to handle such situations such as being aware of every movement around me, working in pairs, keeping my back to a wall, etc. I wear dull or muted color clothing, keep my camera by my side and not hanging, walk on the sidewalk nearest the street, and walk purposefully. I would suggest anyone taking photos should not stand in the middle of a sidewalk looking at a map and be quick when taking photographs. Don’t hang around. Don’t make eye contact. Several years ago two men in Pretoria, South Africa two young men knocked me down and tried to take my camera, but I kicked out and held them off.

You mentioned that Hale Bopp got you interested in serious photography, but what about the experience motivated you to continue on?

Because I realized I actually could successfully operate the camera, and that opened up a means for me to be a serious artist in a challenging medium. In the early history of photography, there was a debate between those who thought taking pictures was a purely mechanical function. The Supreme Court put that to rest in the 19th Century by noting the creative aspects of photography for copyright purposes. The challenge is in working with reality before you and getting the right composition, lighting and tone of the image—what it evokes, the feeling, why one photo over another, etc.

You said that you take photos according to levels that can involve themes, but do you ever just wander and shoot what interests you in the moment without thinking ahead to how it could be categorized?

Sometimes, yes, I abandon the guidebook and am receptive to the shot. It’s intuitive, but I look for the kind of moment that is reflected in the three photographs above I’ve identified as favorites. The guidebooks are useful for informative background, and you should prepare for a city by doing your research. It provides context. A particular street corner may not initially attract your eye, but if you know something significant happened there in 1755, then the place takes on a different aura. Also, as perceptive as you might be, having a sense of what to look for does help. However, I am not on assignment, so I also look for details and unusual viewpoints. The two approaches—following the guidebook and wandering off the trail—are not mutually exclusive.

In what ways are you, the photographer, also the artist?

A photographer is an artist working in the visual arts. Every image entails numerous decisions. You can cut certain things out by framing or cropping, but assuming you are not overly manipulating an image, what you photograph is what is there. Your technique and style come in with viewpoint, subject matter, composition and the appropriate use of image processing software. The photographer’s compositional eye is critical because that is what creates the balance in the image.

Why do you use only Nikon cameras?

When I moved beyond my original Olympus OM1N, I knew it would be either Canon or Nikon based on conversations with many photographers, including professional ones who covered bar association events. I don't remember specifically what the tipping point was, but it edged towards Nikon, and I've been invested in them ever since. The cameras are responsive and perform well in that I find them intuitive to use after a while, and the quality of the raw captured image enables sufficient information for post processing.

If you were to pick one place you had photographed in the past and could do it all over again, which place would it be and why?

I would love to photograph Shanghai again. I was there on a trade mission, with limited time and a film camera. I would do it again before more of it vanishes into the more modern city. ​